Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) began as an outgrowth of the National Research Council (NRC). It was created as a result of an inquiry into federal assistance for research and development activities in the physical, life and human sciences, which was part of a larger investigation into the state of federal science policies and programs. This inquiry took the form of a Senate Special Committee on Science Policy, which was headed by Maurice Montagne, and its final report was published in 1973.
This report precipitated the tabling of Bill C-26 which included, among other things, a proposal for the creation of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, to provide funding of research in the fields of natural sciences and engineering as well as to advise the minister about matters relating to such research. Bill C-26 received Royal Assent on May 1, 1978, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council was born.
Creating a separate council to administer funds for research was seen as preferable to leaving this function with the National Research Council, as it would eliminate any potential conflicts of interest that could arise in awards competition. For example, an NRC researcher could compete with external researchers for funds. Although there was no evidence that conflicts of interest had occurred, and the budget for grants for university research had always been kept separate from monies for research institutes, it was deemed that it would be preferable to eliminate this potentially contentious situation by removing from NRC the research grant function to an external body, NSERC.
Since 1978, the department's mandate has been to: promote and assist research in the natural sciences and engineering, other than the health sciences; and advise the Minister in respect of such matters relating to research as the Minister may refer to the Council for its consideration. (Natural Science and Engineering Research Council Act, 1976-77, c24).
In order to fulfill this mandate, all NSERC activities relate to a single business line - support of research and scholarship in the natural sciences and engineering fields. NSERC provides research grants through a peer-reviewed process to professors at Canadian universities, partnerships to support basic and project research, scholarships and fellowships to students, post-doctoral fellowships and the related administrative services to these functions. This traditional focus on the university sector is has expanded to include the college sector, and college professors can now act as co-applicants on research projects with university professors and can receive funding for their own project research.
According to NSERC'S first five-year business plan, the initial priorities were to: expand the scholarship and fellowship program; develop a program to update equipment and infrastructure; expand and focus targeted research; improve the program of free research; and improve management and communication systems. These priorities focused on supporting basic or pure scientific research. In line with these priorities, within two years, NSERC created three programs to offset a potential shortage of highly qualified people: Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA), University Research Fellowships (URF) and Industrial Research Fellowships (IRF).
In 1983, the federal government increased NSERC's budget for university-industry research partnerships. Accordingly, NSERC regrouped existing activities and created several new initiatives. For example, the Project Research Applicable in Industry (or PRAI) program, inherited from NRC, was modified, expanded and renamed Collaborative Research and Development Program. This new project required industrial partners to contribute financially to the research project.
Another new program was the Industrial Research Chairs program, which helped universities to build on existing strengths or to develop a major research capacity in areas of interest to industry. The first was the NSERC/New Brunswick Power Industrial Research Chair in Nuclear Engineering held by Daniel Meleney. Hundreds of other Industrial Research Chairs have since been established.
As of ca. 2008, NSERC provided about one third of all funds for university research and development in the natural sciences and engineering. More than 8000 researchers received NSERC support for their work on an annual basis. At the time, forty-three of the top fifty R&D companies had funded university research in partnership with NSERC and, in total, about 1000 companies had partnered in NSERC programs.
NSERC reports to Parliament through the designated Minister, which, through the years, has included: the Minister of Science; the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development; the Minister of Industry; and the Minister of State for Science and Technology.
NSERC is governed by a Council (or Board of Directors) headed by a President and otherwise consisting of members selected from industry, universities and the private non-profit sector. NSERC's Council is to be distinguished from NSERC as a corporate and operating entity.
NSERC's decisions are also informed by standing, program, and ad hoc committees including those that advise Council on program direction and mechanics and those that are involved in the granting of awards to individuals or for research partnerships in various scientific disciplines or for research partnerships.
NSERC possesses two Subject File Classification Systems (SFCS), at least one informal system, and various electronic databases and repositories. The two SFCS include files since the establishment of NSERC, 1978 to 2000 and a 'Post 31 December 2000' system. The informal system contains Integrity/Ethics files and is a subset of case files documenting cases related to auditing and/or legal questions arising from NSERC awards. These files are organized alphanumerically by client. NSERC's records are managed by its Corporate Administrative Services Directorate, which also jointly manages the records of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
Presidents of the NSERC have included: Gordon M. MacNabb (1978-1986), Dr. Arthur W. May (1986-1990), Dr. Peter Morand (1990-1995), Dr. Tom Brzustowski (1995-2005), Dr. Suzanne Fortier (2006-2013), Dr. B. Mario Pinto (2014-2018), Dr. Digvir S. Jayas (Interim President 2018-2019), and Dr. Alejandro Adem (2019- ).
